Mafabi says he won’t leave office to campaign for party presidency
Dr Besigye stresses a point recently. FDC party is seeking his replacement after he indicated he would not continue as party president.
What you need to know:
Sources within FDC indicate that should the Leader of Opposition in Parliament leave office to campaign for party presidency, Winnie Kiiza, the Kasese Woman MP would act in his capacity.
KAMPALA
The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Nathan Nandala Mafabi, yesterday said he would not leave his office as he campaigns for the Forum for Democratic Change presidency. “I cannot use my office resources because I have had the ability of using everything personal and I have done it before,” Mr Nandala said yesterday. “When I am away, I will put someone to act for me but resigning office is for civil servants and not politicians,” he added.
The development comes amid reports from the largest opposition party in the country that candidates seeking FDC’s leadership should step down from their public positions during the campaigns.
According to the party’s campaign guidelines seen by this newspaper: “A person duly nominated as party presidential candidate shall take leave of absence from the office he/she holds in the party and or in government and shall not use the party or government resources like staff, vehicles, office equipment throughout the duration of the campaign.”
FDC is seeking to fill the position which fell vacant after Dr Kizza Besigye revealed recently that he was retiring before his term ends in 2014.
Mr Mafabi is contesting for the seat with former Army Commander Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu and Tororo County MP Geoffrey Ekanya. The party’s delegates meet on November 22 for their national conference at Namboole in Wakiso District to choose Dr Besigye’s replacement.
Presidential candidate
The winner in the November vote will be certified as the party president. However, it does not translate, according to FDC’s constitution, that the party leader is the automatic presidential candidate for the 2016 general elections.
This newspaper also understands that the party secretary general, also Serere Woman MP, Ms Alice Alaso, has written to Mr Mafabi reminding him of his duty to follow the party guidelines -- even as he had already resigned as party treasurer.
But Mr Mafabi questioned Ms Alaso’s letter, preferring instead to stick to the provisions of Section 25 of the Parliamentary Elections Act which indicates who resigns and who doesn’t ahead of an election. Part two of the Act states that a minister or any other person who holds political office would not use the office facilities and resources ordinarily attached to his office when campaigning for public office.
“Some people are acting beyond,” he said in direct reference to the aforementioned letter.
“In fact it is the chairman of the Party Electoral Commission who should have written and not the secretary general because the elections are run by that office.”
Mr Dan Mugarura, who heads FDC’s elections department, told Daily Monitor that Mr Mafabi does not have to resign as LoP “since the party inner laws and guidelines are subordinate to those in the Constitution of Uganda.”
“What we expect of him is not to go to campaign with the government car, money or staff of the LoP office because that will be contrary to the provisions of the Act. He has to use his personal resources. We have monitors in every region that will be filming and recording all their campaign meetings.”
